TGHD Ch44
by soapaCheon Ryubeom began gathering clues, one by one.
So far, all the bodies found at Wonjeung Pier were human and recorded as having no occupation. Did all these people from different generations take their own lives out of despair? Was it possible that they had some sort of gathering when three of them were found together at once?
He organized the clues he had collected and the information he had seen in the river. He had to piece together everything, from the moment he fell into the river to the strange phenomena he encountered before that.
Did he only see one mermaid? He encountered them three times in total, and it seemed to be the same mermaid each time… However, his focus and visual acuity, akin to that of a hunting beast, were unmatched. The first time he saw it in the river, the second time when he fell into the river, and the last time when he chased it to the very end.
They were all different in appearance.
This meant there were at least three mermaids in the Han River. They seemed to move together rather than separately. Perhaps moving as a trio made them more effective at luring their target. They might even have different roles.
If they were water-dwelling yokai, there could be other forms they could take, so why did they appear as mermaids? Was it because that form could invoke the most fear? And above all…
[…Get me out…]
That phrase kept bothering him. While it was partly because it was engraved in his mind in his father’s voice, Cheon Ryubeom pondered over it from another perspective.
Why specifically “Get me out”? Was it because they could read his deepest desires and knew that if his father said that, he would come? But if it was meant to lure someone, wouldn’t a plea for help or asking to be found be just as effective?
But if it wasn’t that, and they specifically said “Get me out”…
‘Does that mean something or someone is trapped somewhere?’
Following this endless chain of thoughts, Cheon Ryubeom headed to Wonjeung Pier. He planned to check the area outside the perimeter line. His gaze reflexively turned to the deep part of the river, but he forced himself to focus and searched the surroundings. And as soon as he arrived, Cheon Ryubeom noticed a strange change.
The ominous energy flowing around the river had intensified.
Even the humans standing guard seemed to feel something was wrong, as they were all tense and frozen. Seeing them attaching talismans to ropes, possibly obtained from somewhere, made Ryubeom’s expression darken.
The Han River was still calm, but he could feel the killing intent writhing beneath its surface. Could it be that he angered it by chasing the mermaids? But he hadn’t directly confronted them, and the killing intent now was too widespread.
In the calm before the storm, he began to search the area.
The reason Cheon Ryubeom had returned to Wonjeung Pier was a memory of seeing some sort of structure in the river. At first, he thought the bodies were drifting toward the pier, but now he wondered if there was something nearby. Was what he saw in the river really a building, or was it just a structure he mistook for one? He had to move to confirm it.
He retraced his memory, estimating the distance he swam from where he fell into the river at the pier. Fortunately, all the shops near Wonjeung Pier were closed, making it easy to look around unnoticed.
From early morning until late at night, Ryubeom didn’t stop searching. It happened to be the weekend, so he didn’t have to worry about the triplets’ school, allowing him to focus solely on the investigation. Though he thought he was simply looking for a suspicious building, his determination made him seem almost desperate.
As if he was searching for an opportunity to meet ‘him’ again. Or as if he was trying to find a valid reason to enter the river once more.
He didn’t sleep, dedicating himself entirely to the search. As a tiger beastman, he could go a day or two without sleep without any significant issues, so he naturally stayed up all night. Thanks to the elixir Yeohwi had given him, he was in excellent condition. Although it wasn’t intended for this purpose, he rationalized that solving the Han River issue would ultimately provide a safer environment for the triplets’ education.
On the third day of searching the area, Cheon Ryubeom finally discovered a strange building.
“…Animal hospital?”
Hanmang Animal Hospital.
The small building, with cute icons of a dog and a cat next to its sign, appeared to have been neglected for some time, as its exterior was worn down. Dust covered the steps at the entrance, and cobwebs clung to the wooden terrace. While this was not much different from the other deserted shops in the alley, the part that puzzled Ryubeom was the state of the interior.
Everything was left as it was. Documents were scattered on the desk, a pen lay beside them, a snack bag, a mug, and a coat draped over a chair. The scene, with a thick layer of dust settled over it, conveyed a sense of eeriness.
In the deep of night, Cheon Ryubeom quietly looked around. Not even the sound of insects could be heard in the alley, and there was no sign of life. Ryubeom silently grasped the doorknob. It was firmly locked from the inside, but he took a light breath and pulled the door.
With a crack, the lock broke, and a bell rang.
Ding…
Ryubeom looked around once more before stepping inside. He walked over the remnants of the broken lock without hesitation.
However, even after entering the animal hospital, Cheon Ryubeom found nothing of significance. He checked the documents on the desk but found only information about the animals that had been treated there.
The first thing that caught his eye was the names column. Choco, Tofu, Milk, Yuzu, Injeolmi, Dumpling, Mocha… The endless list of food names made Ryubeom slightly uneasy. The animals were of various species, including dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, parrots, and chinchillas, yet all had food names. Why do humans name their pets after food?
With that trivial thought, he flipped through the documents. Lack of sleep was causing his mind to wander. The only normal thought he had was that this must be a hospital for exotic animals, given the wide variety of species.
An entire wall was filled with anesthetics.
Do animal hospitals usually have this much anesthesia…? Cheon Ryubeom, staring at it blankly, suddenly felt his vision brightening and slowly turned his head to the side.
Through a small window, he could see the Han River. In the dawning light, the Han River glittered serenely yet exuded a cold, melancholic aura. Looking at the river always evoked two conflicting emotions. Its surface was dazzlingly beautiful, but beneath it lay a realm of death.
[…Get me out…]
Suddenly, a whisper echoed in his mind, causing Cheon Ryubeom to stagger and grab the wall for support. The vivid voice sent chills down his spine. Was he hearing this because he had been obsessing over those words for days, to the point of auditory hallucinations?
He had deliberately avoided sleep to avoid hearing that voice. Since the last time he dreamed of his father, Cheon Ryubeom hadn’t gone to bed. He couldn’t bring himself to sleep, fearing he would hear that voice again.
‘It’s already been three days…’
As he became aware of the passage of time, a heavy weariness pulled at his eyelids. Although he thought he could endure three days without sleep thanks to the elixir, he realized he might have been wrong. Ryubeom quietly sighed and headed outside. He began to feel that it was time to go home and rest. Come to think of it, he needed to help the triplets with their school dismissal today…
As Cheon Ryubeom walked toward the subway station in a daze, he suddenly felt someone approaching him from behind. Just as a hand was about to touch his shoulder, Ryubeom swiftly grabbed it first. His wariness shot up sharply.
“Ouch, ouch…”
However, when Ryubeom turned to see who it was, he was taken aback. The person had straight, tall deer antlers, through which the early morning light filtered, giving an almost sacred impression. But what surprised Ryubeom more than the antlers was that the person looked familiar. He had seen this person just a few days ago.
At Hn Entertainment.
On the day he went to watch Yeohwi at work, he had seen a few other staff members in the photo shoot area. The deer person in front of him now, and the rabbit person quickly running toward them from behind, were both there that day, working in the dimly lit studio. The deer person was a stylist, and the rabbit person was a makeup artist.
The rabbit person shouted urgently, “You idiot! How could you just run up and grab him like that!”
“I didn’t know his name…”
“You could have just said, ‘Excuse me!’ Ugh, I’m so sorry! You must have been really startled, right?”
Ryubeom, caught off guard by this unexpected encounter, belatedly released the hand he had grabbed. The deer person whimpered about a swollen wrist, but the rabbit person quickly grabbed him by the neck and made him bow in apology. Despite the significant height difference between the long-legged deer and the small-statured rabbit, the rabbit’s jumping power was impressive.
“You’re the person who visited Hn Entertainment a few days ago, right?” the rabbit asked cautiously.
Ryubeom, still bewildered, nodded. He had been sitting quietly in the corner of the studio with his hat pulled low, and their bags had been nearby, leading to a brief exchange of glances. Recognizing him by his similar outfit from that day, the pair’s faces lit up with excitement at Ryubeom’s confirmation.
“I knew it! We happened to see you passing by, and we wanted to say hi!”
“Uh, yes…”
“The CEO personally brought you, so we were really curious…”
The rabbit, smiling brightly, continued the conversation, with the deer naturally joining in. The rabbit, with droopy lop ears and a pink checkered beret on top, introduced herself as Song Jimyo, while the deer, who appeared around 180 cm tall but looked even taller due to his antlers and had a very gentle demeanor, introduced himself as Lee Irok.
Feeling swept along, Cheon Ryubeom awkwardly shared that his name was “Ryubeom” and then asked, somewhat confused by the two pairs of round, clear eyes staring at him, “What were you curious about…?”
“Are you the heir to the fox family?”
“Did you visit to take over the entertainment business…?”
“…What?”
Cheon Ryubeom’s face immediately filled with bewilderment. The expression on his face gave Jimyo and Irok an answer, leaving their mouths agape.
“You came with the CEO and just sat quietly watching, so we thought you were the next in line!”
“And on the first floor, someone called you ‘young master’?!”
The two had assumed Ryubeom was part of the power succession at Hn Entertainment, so they had run all the way here to make a good impression on the potential future leader! Seeing the unfairness on their faces, Cheon Ryubeom was extremely flustered.
He had just been there to observe, but now it made sense why the staff seemed tense whenever he looked their way. It was all because of the term “young master.” The misunderstanding must have snowballed because people kept calling him that. Ryubeom thought to himself that he needed to do something to stop people from using that title, as he explained his situation. After days of being focused solely on the mermaid case, the sudden shift in focus made him relax, even causing him to let out a small, involuntary laugh.